Ubiquitous computing can be defined as a space or environment on which a man can receive services at anytime and anywhere in connecting to online network through all kinds of the terminals and objects. In order for the ubiquitous computing to be materialized, it must be required to recognize that a computer or network is the situation of human life space.
In the ubiquitous computing area, invisible computing, everywhere computing and seamless network are three (3) kinds fundamental concept. A lot of technologies have been continuously developed to actualize the concepts above. There are, for example, sensing technology, miniaturization of a device, RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) etc., but such technologies and application services have been developed for the sole mono-domain.
Objects belonging to an environment is required to unite organically and share their role in the ubiquitous computing environment in which various and complicated instruments and services are mingled, in order to provide an adequate service after detecting a user's intention. The issue of the collaboration among information, instrument and the service to be occurred at such a case cannot be ignored.
The themes to be predicted as computing issues in the coming ubiquitous computing environment would be heterogeneous environment control, conflicts resolution among ubiquitous entities, security, and the intelligence required to individual context model. Followings are illustrated in more detail.
First, in view of the heterogeneous environment control, there are diverse devices having computing power and networking function and software providing a service in the ubiquitous computing. Therefore, the protocol and network for supporting communications between those might have heterogeneity beyond the diversity. The heterogeneity requires various integration and collaboration among users, services or networks. However, the previous model for integration and collaboration could not overcome such heterogeneity.
Second, in view of the conflicts resolution among ubiquitous entities, the ubiquitous entities might have intelligence because computing transplants the diverse objects under the ubiquitous environment, or not. There has been much proposed about the collision resolution model between the objects having both similar level of intelligence and self-control. There might, however, be an issue on how detecting the behavior between the objects having different level of intelligence and self-control and solving the collision occurring between them.
Third, in view of the security, information has to be gathered and shared in order to provide both individual and autonomous service in the mobile environment. However, personal or other information relating to personal privacy might be exposed during the operation regardless of user's intention. Therefore, the new concept of security is needed for pursing two kinds of other elements such as protection of privacy intrusion and information sharing.
Fourth, in view of the intelligence required to individual context model (Defining the relationship between the data after analyzing context data), providing a service change based on the context should not only recognize the context through sensing data, but also understand various contexts for diverse users, instruments and services. For doing it, it must understand and share the context developing toward domain-centric from cross-domain.
In order to solve the issue and requirements described in the above, a community concept is introduced to the ubiquitous computing environment so that the community may need to be recreated as an organic and automatic aggregate under ubiquitous environment.
Community is defined as an assembly of either person living in the nearby area or having common concern as lexicographical meaning. It has been evolving from the community of the practical circumstance to on-line community connected by Internet.
The inventor of the present invention would solve the difficulties under the ubiquitous environment as above by designing a collaborating model in unit community in which person, computing devices and services are united organically by integrating such a community model with the ubiquitous environment.